In an epic national championship match, Brunswick beat Haverford, 4-3, securing its second straight U.S. Squash Team National Championship on Sunday in Philadelphia. The champion Bruins were awarded the Justi Cup, given to the winners of the top division of the national tournament.
To open the scoring in the championship, sophomore Will Holey scored the first team point for Brunswick at #7, with a three-game sweep over Haverford’s William Glaser (12-10, 11-1, 11-7).
Patrick Feeley ’18 made it a 2-0 Bruin advantage, grinding out a five-game win over Peter Miller at the #5 spot (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 3-11, 11-7).
Haverford’s Duncan Joyce cut the deficit to 2-1, after winning the deciding fifth game, 16-14, over junior Tyler Carney at the #2 position (9-11, 11-7, 13-15, 11-4, 16-14).
The Fords tied the championship at 2-2 when Grant Sterman used four games to top Brunswick’s Boden Polikioff at #6 (11-4, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6).
The Bruins got to the championship point when senior Drew Monroe topped Haverford’s William Means at #3. Monroe won the match in four games (11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9), giving Brunswick a 3-2 lead in the first-to-four championship.
Sophomore Max Finkelstein captured the championship for the Bruins at #4 against Justin Shah. Finkelstein battled back from a two-game deficit, extending his match to five games (7-11, 6-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-5) to secure Brunswick’s second national championship.
After Finkelstein’s win clinched the championship, the final match at #1 concluded with Haverford’s Sean Hughes topping senior David Yacobucci in three games (11-7, 11-2, 11-5).
The top-seeded and undefeated Bruins had a challenging draw for the Justi Cup. Brunswick, playing without two-time All-American David Yacobucci at the #1 position in the opening two matches, knocked off three-time champion Lawrenceville in the opening round (6-1) on Friday, and cruised past Deerfield (7-0) in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning.
Yacobucci made his debut for the Bruins in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon, as Brunswick faced 2014 champion Avon Old Farms. The semifinal was a challenging affair for the Bruins, who twice defeated the Winged Beavers in the regular season.
With a place in the national finals on the line, Avon pressed Brunswick to the maximum five games in three individual matches, but the Bruins prevailed to win the contest, 6-1.
The 2016 event, hosted by the Philadelphia Cricket Club, saw a record 103 teams compete in seven divisions. This year's finals appearance was the eighth for Brunswick’s coach Jim Stephens.
Results
#1 (H) Sean Hughes over (B) David Yacobucci ’16 (11-7, 11-2, 11-5)
#2 (H) Duncan Joyce over (B) Tyler Carney ’17 (9-11, 11-7, 13-15, 11-4, 16-14)
#3 (B) Drew Monroe ’16 over (H) William Means (11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9)
#4 (B) Max Finkelstein ’18 over (H) Justin Shah (7-11, 6-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-5)
#5 (B) Patrick Feeley ’18 over (H) Peter Miller (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 3-11, 11-7)
#6 (H) Grant Sterman over (B) Boden Polikoff ’16 (11-4, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6)
#7 (B) Will Holey ’18 over (H) William Glaser (12-10, 11-1, 11-7)